Graphical user interface (GUI) for administering a voice over internet protocol (VOIP) network implementing media aggregation

ABSTRACT

A graphical user interface (GUI) is disclosed that allows a user to identify routers, communities, residents and media aggregation managers existing on a network. The user may interactively select a path that includes two media aggregation managers and at least one router. The GUI predicts scheduled bandwidth utilization along the selected path for a variety of residents wishing to communicate across the path. The GUI may be utilized for initializing all media aggregation managers on the network along with provisioning each of the routers on the selected path. The GUI provisions all of the routers and initializes all of the media aggregation managers on the selected path simultaneously in order to accomplish the predicted schedule of usage provided by the GUI to the user and force all communication packets communicated between the residents to travel along the selected path.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/689,222, filed Oct. 11, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,054, issued Feb. 8, 2011, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Contained herein is material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction of the patent disclosure by any person as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all rights to the copyright whatsoever.

Embodiments of the present invention are concerned with management of a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention are directed to a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that enables a system manager to initialize, based on predicted link utilization, a plurality of routers and media aggregation managers existing on a selected communication path. The initialization provides the media aggregation managers with reservation protocol session parameters and bandwidth allocation requirements for a predetermined schedule of usage over the VoIP network.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART (BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION)

Current network management tools such as Hewlett Packard's OPEN VIEW and ADVENTNET, have typically been used by System Administrators for detecting and analyzing faults that occur within a network. The programs generally discover a network and each node or router on the network submits to the administrator if and where faults exist in the network so that the System Administrator can address the problematic faults. The System administrator can select an individual router and provision the router through the OPEN VIEW and ADVENTNET GUI. When provisioning a router, the existing tools utilize a standard protocol such as Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) or command line interface. The standard protocol is typically communicated to the provisioning tool like OPEN VIEW or ADVENTNET by the router during the network discovery so that the protocol utilized for provisioning the router is hidden from the user. Provisioning a router includes router control parameters such as assigning an IP address to a router or assigning a bandwidth for a certain type of communication through the router.

One of the problems with the existing network management tools is that they do not provide for administration of VoIP networks. Another disadvantage of the current tools is that they do not allow a user to initialize multiple routers along a selected VoIP path.

SUMMARY

Methods and apparatus are described for administering a VoIP network that contains one or more media aggregation managers.

In one embodiment, a method of conveying information about a VoIP network to a user is disclosed. The method comprises: discovering a plurality of nodes on a VoIP network wherein the plurality of nodes includes a media aggregation manager that provides application/protocol specific multiplexing/demultiplexing of media traffic onto a pre-allocated reservation protocol session; and graphically depicting representations of the plurality of nodes and their interconnections on a network map, wherein the representations of the plurality of media aggregation managers are visually distinguishable from the remainder of the plurality of nodes.

In another embodiment, a method of allowing a user to interactively explore how changes in path selection between media aggregation managers affects projected link utilization in a network is disclosed. A graphical user interface displays graphical representations of a first media aggregation manager and second media aggregation manager. The first and second media aggregation managers serve as reservation session aggregation points between a first user community and a second user community and have a plurality of physical paths through which media packets may be exchanged by way of one or more packet forwarding devices. The GUI displays a first projected link utilization based upon an indication that a first path of the plurality of physical paths will be used to convey media packets between the first and second media aggregation managers. The GUI also displays a second projected link utilization based upon an indication that a second path of the plurality of physical paths will be used to convey media packets between the first and second media aggregation, managers.

In another embodiment, a method is disclosed wherein the method comprises: in response to a discovery request, discovering nodes on a network; identifying and graphically displaying the nodes and their interconnections on a map; receiving inputs including a first node, a second node and projected bandwidth traffic requirement between the first node and the second node; and displaying the projected bandwidth traffic requirement for the nodes.

In another embodiment, a graphical user interface is disclosed wherein the GUI comprises: a display portion that graphically depicts and identifies a plurality of nodes on a network, wherein the plurality of nodes includes a plurality of media aggregation managers that provide application/protocol specific multiplexing/demultiplexing of media traffic onto a pre-allocated reservation protocol session, and wherein the plurality of media aggregation managers are distinguishable from other nodes on the network.

In another embodiment, a method is disclosed wherein the method comprises: receiving a first input indicating a first media aggregation manager; receiving a second input indicating a second media aggregation manager; receiving a third input indicating a projected utilization between the first media aggregation manager and the second media aggregation manager; displaying a prioritized plurality of paths between the first media aggregation manager and the second media aggregation manager that satisfy the projected utilization; and receiving a fourth input indicating a selected path of the plurality of paths.

Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an initialization control GUI in communication with a plurality of media aggregation managers according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a menu of available screens for the initialization GUI according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a typical user navigation flow through the initialization process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a screen used for de-allocation of the media aggregation managers according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a network map interface according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a property window associated with a node according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a bandwidth allocation screen according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a BW on Link screen showing a utilization schedule for a selected node on the discovered network according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart indicating the process of analysis for a selected path according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart indicating the process of initializing the selected media aggregation managers according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Apparatus and Methods are described for initializing, allocating and de-allocating reservation protocol sessions between a plurality of media aggregation managers. Broadly stated, embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables a user to allocate and de-allocate bandwidth and reservation protocol sessions between a plurality of media aggregation managers along a path containing a plurality of routers. This is accomplished by allowing the user to analyze various repercussions of increasing/decreasing the user demand over various paths on a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network and viewing the bandwidth effects at all nodes on the path for a schedule that varies based on usage variations at various times of the day, week, month or year.

Media aggregation managers are the subject of a related co-pending application having application Ser. No. 09/634,035, entitled “Multiplexing Several Individual Application Sessions over a Pre-allocated Reservation Protocol Session,” (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,013,338, issued on Mar. 14, 2006) that is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. As discussed in the related application, a media aggregation manager is initialized with an expected bandwidth utilization between it and another media aggregation manager. Two media aggregation managers, having pre-allocated an expected bandwidth usage between them, allow residents in a community to utilize a portion of the pre-allocated bandwidth without having to establish individual application sessions as previously required by conventional networks not utilizing media aggregation managers. This type of pre-allocated bandwidth between media aggregation managers saves time in establishing linking protocols and saves bandwidth overhead by not requiring each VoIP connection to establish its own link and maintain its own individual link.

One benefit of the graphical user interface of the present invention is that it allows a system administrator to adjust bandwidth allocation requirements for a plurality of users communicating between a plurality of locations based on historical and current utilization demands by allowing allocation and de-allocation of bandwidth reservations between a plurality of media aggregation managers. Additionally, another advantage of the present invention is that the GUI allows a user, by selecting a path, to initialize multiple routers along the path simultaneously without having to individually provision each router. The present invention addresses the inadequacy of current network management tools by providing a GUI for discovering a VoIP network, including the media aggregation managers residing on the VoIP network and allowing a user, based on predicted usage requirements, to initialize the media aggregation managers and the routers included on a selected path for a predetermined schedule.

According to one embodiment, a VoIP network containing a plurality of media aggregation managers is discovered and then displayed. The user may review individual properties for each of the nodes displayed on a network map. For example, the user may select two media aggregation managers for inter-communication analysis along with a predicted community demand of resources between the two selected media aggregation managers. The GUI displays a prioritized list of potential paths between the selected media aggregation managers including one or more routers for the communities to use in communicating between the media aggregation managers. Additionally, the user may select a path for an analysis of the effect of allocating the predicted bandwidth to a reservation protocol session between the selected media aggregation managers. The graphical user interface displays a predicted schedule of bandwidth traffic for any node on the network incorporating the predicted pre-allocated bandwidth that is being considered for allocation between the media aggregation managers. Based on the displayed data, the user may decide to allocate the bandwidth for all of the routers and media aggregation managers along the selected path, change paths, de-allocate bandwidth between these or other media aggregation managers or reduce/restrict the predicted community usage on a selected path.

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form.

Embodiments of the present invention include various steps, which will be described below. The steps may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instruction, which may be used to cause a general purpose or special purpose processor programmed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps may be performed by a combination of hardware and software.

Embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a computer program product that may include a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to perform a process. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, floppy diskettes, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnet or optical cards, flash memory, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. Moreover, embodiments of the present invention may also be downloaded as a computer program product, wherein the program may be transferred from a remote computer to a requesting computer by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e.g., a modem or network connection).

While, for convenience, embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to particular existing signaling, control, and communications protocol standards, such as International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Section (ITU-T) Recommendation H.225.0 entitled “Call Signaling Protocols and Media Stream Packetization for Packet-based Multimedia Communication Systems,” published February 1998 (hereinafter H.225.0); ITU-T Recommendation H.245 entitled “Control Protocol for Multimedia Communication,” published May 1999 (hereinafter H.245); ITU-T Recommendation H.323 entitled “Packet-based Multimedia Communications Systems,” published September 1999 (hereinafter H.323); and a particular bandwidth reservation protocol (i.e., RSVP), the present invention is equally applicable to various other signaling, control, communications and reservation protocols. For example, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) may be employed to create, modify, and terminate application sessions with one or more participants. SIP is described in M. Handley et al., “SIP: Session Initiation Protocol,” RFC 2543, Network Working Group, March 1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

In addition, for sake of brevity, embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to a specific application (i.e., VOIP) in which individual flows may be multiplexed over a pre-allocated bandwidth reservation protocol session. Nevertheless, the present invention is equally applicable to various other applications that require real-time performance, such as applications based on human interactions (e.g., collaborative software, online/Web collaboration, voice conferencing, and video conferencing), and the like.

Terminology

Brief definitions of terms used throughout this application are given below.

A “media aggregation manager” may generally be thought of as a network device, such as an edge device at the ingress/egress of a user community, or a group of one or more software processes running on a network device that provides application/protocol specific multiplexing/de-multiplexing of media traffic onto a pre-allocated reservation protocol session.

A “reservation protocol” generally refers to a protocol that may be employed to communicate information regarding a desired level of service for a particular application flow. An example of an existing bandwidth reservation protocol is RSVP.

A “community” generally refers to a group of residents on a common network at a given location. For example, employees on an enterprise network at a given location or users of a particular Internet service provider (ISP) at a given location may represent a community.

A “reservation protocol session” generally refers to a set of reserved network resources, including the routers utilized for the session, established and maintained between two or more network devices that serve as proxies or gate-keepers for application endpoints residing behind the proxies. An example of a reservation protocol session is an RSVP session between two media aggregation managers.

“Total available bandwidth” refers to the amount of bandwidth accessible for any given router or could refer to the maximum available bandwidth of the most limiting node on a path between two selected nodes and their intervening nodes.

The “available communication bandwidth” encompasses the amount of bandwidth accessible for the desired type of communication to be reserved in any reservation protocol session. For instance, in one embodiment, the user may wish to allocate reservation protocol sessions for VoIP communication. In one case, 75% of the total available bandwidth may be the available communication bandwidth for VoIP type communications and a reservation protocol session initialized for 100 users between two media aggregation managers may only require 10% of the available communication bandwidth.

An “application session” generally refers to a session established and maintained between two or more terminals. According to embodiments of the present invention, one or more application sessions may be multiplexed onto a single reservation protocol session thereby reducing the overhead for establishing and maintaining multiple application sessions.

A “terminal” generally refers to a LAN-based endpoint for media transmission, such as voice transmission. Terminals may be capable of executing one or more networked applications programs. An example of a terminal would be a computer system running an Internet telephony application, such as COOLTALK or NETMEETING.

An “application” or “endpoint” generally refers to a software program that is designed to assist in the performance of a specific task, such as Internet telephony, online collaboration, or video conferencing.

Media Aggregation Manager Overview

FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates interactions between two media aggregation managers 130 and 140 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The media aggregation managers 130 and 140 act as reservation protocol proxies on behalf of the communities 150 and 160 where a plurality of residents wish to communicate with each other. For example, resident 151 may wish to communicate with resident 161 while resident 152 wishes to communicate with resident 162. The media aggregation managers, pre-allocate bandwidth and establish a reservation protocol session capable of handling multiple communications between residents in community 150 and residents in community 160. Having media aggregation managers controlling a single reservation protocol session for multiple communication for residents between a plurality of communities allows for packets of communication data to be efficiently multiplexed and reduces protocol overhead as individual pairs of residents need not maintain their own application sessions.

The reservations may apply to various paths. For example, the bandwidth reservation may lay over path 110 containing one intermediary router 111 or may be allocated over path 120 containing two intermediary routers 121 and 122. The reservation for communications between community 150 and community 160 may also be split over the various paths 110 and 120 depending on the historical and current bandwidth burden on individual routers 111, 121 and 122. The media aggregation managers reserve a protocol session and then multiplex the plurality of data packets for a plurality of communication links to be communicated. As prior technologies required each resident in a community to request an individual reservation session to establish a link between community 150 and community 160, media aggregation managers and the apparatuses and methods for initializing/controlling the media aggregation managers have been developed. Embodiments of the present invention provide a graphical user interface 100 that enables a user to interactively discover, analyze and initialize the media aggregation managers to handle a schedule of community communications.

The administration GUI tool used for initializing the routers and media aggregation managers is illustrated as designator 100 in FIG. 1. The instructions for the GUI may reside in any combination of hardware or software and likewise may reside on any system configured to interact with other nodes on the network.

Graphical User Interface Overview

FIG. 2 demonstrates one embodiment of a navigation tool for accessing various screens of the graphical user interface. In the embodiment depicted, a user may choose from one of the listed options, for instance, a user may select Network Discovery 201 to discover the network to be initialized or may choose Bandwidth Allocation 203 to allocate bandwidth to or establish a reservation protocol session between selected media aggregation managers as will become apparent in the following description.

An example of how a user may navigate through the menu to administer to a network is depicted in FIG. 3. Beginning with the menu depicted in FIG. 2, a user may select Network Discovery 201 in processing block 310. Once the Network Discovery 310 is complete, the user may select to display the network map by selecting Network Map 202 from the menu. After viewing the network map that displays all or a subset of the communities, nodes and media aggregation managers currently on the system, the user may choose to go directly to the Bandwidth Allocation screen 203 by selecting the menu link or may choose to right-click on a graphical representation of one of the media aggregation managers and select from a pop-up menu to allocate bandwidth for that particular media aggregation manager. In either case, a Bandwidth Allocation screen presents itself to the user enabling him to select two media aggregation managers and indicate the number of users capable of communicating via the selected media aggregation managers 330. Once the user indicates which media aggregation managers are to be allocated and how many users are predicted to utilize the session, one or more potential paths, between the two media aggregation managers are displayed on the bandwidth allocation interface. The user may select a path for analysis and, through the graphical user interface, indicate that the selected path is to be analyzed. At processing block 340, the selected path is analyzed to determine projected bandwidth utilization for each link of the selected path. Once analyzed, a user may select BW on Link 206 from the menu or the BW on Link screen may automatically appear after analysis has completed.

On the BW on Link screen, the user may select any node on the network, specifically of interest would be those altered by the predicted increase in usage. In response to being selected, the screen displays a schedule of usage for that node and optionally a projection indicating if the predicted usage increase is within all acceptable range 350. When the predicted usage is within an acceptable range, the media aggregation managers may be initialized. In one embodiment, the user selects Bandwidth Allocation 203 from the menu and, based on the nodes all falling within an acceptable range, the bandwidth for the selected media aggregation managers 360 and the routers along the path is allocated. The user can then decide if more media aggregation managers need to be allocated 370 (for instance, if a pre-existing plurality of communities are experiencing an increase of residents in the near future). When no more media aggregation managers need to be initialized, then the initialization is complete 380. On the other hand, when more media aggregation managers need to be initialized, the user may return to the network map interface through the Network Map menu item 202 or may return directly to the Bandwidth Allocation Interface through the Bandwidth Allocation menu item 203 and repeat the media aggregation selection process just described.

Alternatively, if the BW on Link screen provides data indicating that the predicted bandwidth utilization on any portion of the schedule exceeds the limitations of the network, the user may choose to select a different path for analysis or select to de-allocate a previously allocated session between two other media aggregation managers 390. In either case, the user may return to the Bandwidth allocation page to select a different path through the bandwidth allocation menu item 203 or the user may select a different combination of media aggregation managers to analyze or de-allocate. If the user decides to de-allocate a session, between two selected media aggregation managers to make available more bandwidth to accomplish the desired decrease in predicted utilization, the user may simply select the media aggregation managers 400 and then click on the menu option Bandwidth Deallocation 204 which bring up a dialog box 420 and de-allocate screen 430, shown in FIG. 4, allowing the user to de-allocate the current session between the selected media aggregation managers 410.

Network Map Interface

FIG. 5 shows the network map interface according to one embodiment of the invention. A graphical representation of a plurality of nodes on the discovered network is shown. In addition, links between each of the nodes and the administration GUI 550 are shown. The network map screen indicates community nodes 510, router nodes 520 and media aggregation managers 530. In the present example, each of the nodes or media aggregation nodes are visually distinct via a graphical representation indicative of the type of node. The user is able to readily identify whether a node is a community, router, media aggregation manager, & etc. simply by looking at its graphical representation. The community nodes 510 may have a plurality of residents, including but not limited to computers, routers, phones, printers, scanners and the like. Each of the nodes and the media aggregation managers have properties associated with it that may be accessed by positioning the cursor over the graphical representation for the node and clicking on a mouse button assigned for property retrieval, in this embodiment, although not shown, the right mouse button is assigned for property retrieval. A properties window immediately appears as shown in FIG. 6 indicating information about the node such as the manufacturer 610, the interface addresses 620 or a name 630. Additionally, the properties window may indicate other information about the characteristics of the current configuration of the node. For instance, the property window for a media aggregation manager may indicate how many reservation protocol sessions it is maintaining and with which other media aggregation managers each of the reservation protocol sessions relate. The property window may also indicate the available bandwidth for a given node and for what type of communication the bandwidth is available, such as voice or data communication and the amount of bandwidth that is currently allocated for reservation protocol sessions utilizing this particular media aggregation manager as a proxy or gate-keeper. Other properties may include interface command options, such as allocate bandwidth, de-allocate bandwidth (not shown), or other interface command options that take the user to various interface screens and option windows.

FIG. 7 is a snapshot of one embodiment of the bandwidth allocation screen. The user may select two community gate-keepers or media aggregation managers 710 for analysis or initialization. The present embodiment allows the user to select a source media aggregation manager 720, in this case “reddog” from a menu listing all media aggregation managers that were discovered on the network (not shown) and a destination media aggregation manager 730, in this case “rossini”. The user may also designate the number of users 740 capable of communicating from each of the selected media aggregation managers. In this example, 100 users are capable of simultaneously communicating through the media aggregation manager reddog to residents whose gate-keeper or media aggregation manager is Rossini and likewise, 100 users are capable of communicating from Rossini to residents of reddog. Although the number of users for this example is 100 for both media aggregation managers, they need not be the same number of users.

Once the user has selected two media aggregation managers for analysis or initialization, the user may select “OK” 750 to indicate to the graphical user interface's processing algorithms to evaluate all available paths between the two media aggregation managers. The user may also decide to “abort” the path evaluation process by selecting the “abort” button 760.

In this example, two paths are determined during the path evaluation process although the invention is not so limited. The graphical user interface then displays the paths graphically depicting all intervening communities, routers or other nodes that lie between the selected media aggregation managers. The graphical user interface may display the list in a prioritized fashion utilizing factors such as the number of nodes between the media aggregation managers, the physical length of travel between nodes, the total available bandwidth on the nodes between the media aggregation managers, the available communication bandwidth, or the propagation speed between the various nodes that make up the path. For each factor or combination of weighted factors, the most limiting of the intervening nodes may be utilized for the computation as would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art.

The user may then select a path 770 to analyze. In most cases, the user may default to the highest prioritized path that in this case defaults to the first position on the graphical user interface but may be configured by the user to appear where desired. Alternatively, the user may see that a node in the prioritized path is going to ultimately be extremely burdened by other allocations that the user needs to initialize or has already been initialized and instead may opt for a lower prioritized path. In either case, according to this example, once the user has selected a path for allocation or analysis, he then chooses whether to reserve the protocol session between the two media aggregation managers by pressing the “start bandwidth Allocation” button 780 or the user may select to analyze the effect the bandwidth allocation would have on the nodes by selecting “analyze selected path” button 790.

The bandwidth allocation screen allows the user to abort the analysis at any time if so desired by selecting the “abort” button 760.

FIG. 9 demonstrates what happens when the analyze button 790 is selected. In step 910, a schedule of bandwidth allocation is determined for the selected path. In step 920, after the predicted schedule for the selected path has been determined, the schedule of increased bandwidth allocation is overlaid on top of the schedule that accounts for bandwidth previously reserved to the nodes on the path via other media aggregation managers utilizing those nodes. Finally, in step 930, the combined schedule of usage is optionally displayed to the user.

Once the analysis of the selected path has completed, the graphical user interface may automatically switch to the BW on Link screen shown in FIG. 8 or the user may select BW on Link from the menu on the left and previously discussed with regard to FIG. 2. The BW on Link screen, in this embodiment, displays the predicted utilization results of reserving the session as indicated on the Bandwidth allocation interface. As previously indicated, the displayed schedule incorporates all previously allocated sessions and bandwidth reservations burdening the intervening nodes as well as the predicted increase as a result of the analyzed path if it were to be allocated. The results of the analysis may be viewed for each of the nodes displayed in the network map, primarily of interest would be the nodes along the selected path so that a determination can be made as to whether the protocol session to be reserved will exceed the available communication bandwidth for any node at any time in the predicted schedule.

The media aggregation managers that have been analyzed are displayed 810. The user may indicate a time range for display by changing the offset for each router 820. Another segment of the display 830 indicates to the user all available and analyzed nodes between the selected media aggregation managers by way of a scrollable list of intervening nodes. The user may then select a node on the path and a schedule of utilization for that node appears 840. The schedule depicts a time frame including a Start Time 850 and End time 860 and indicates the bandwidth utilized during that time frame 870 and the amount of the available communication bandwidth 880 that would remain available after the analyzed path has been allocated. The schedule covers various segments of the day as determined by the offsets selected 820 and also indicates a schedule of usage for the node for various days of the week. Once the user verifies that the utilization on all of the nodes on the path are within a desirable range, the user may select to return to the bandwidth allocation screen shown in FIG. 7 and allocate the bandwidth 780.

Once the allocate bandwidth button 780 is selected, the bandwidth for the media aggregation managers are allocated as shown in the flow chart in FIG. 10. In this example at step 1010, each and every router on the selected path where RSVP is not currently utilized, RSVP is enabled. In Step 1020, each router on the selected path is provisioned to force all communication media between the residents communicating between selected source and destination media aggregation managers to travel across the media aggregation managers and routers of the selected path. In step 1030, the media aggregation managers are initialized with all scheduling information necessary to reserve protocol sessions for the plurality of residents at any time within the schedule. The reservation protocol sessions manage the protocol sessions for multiple communication links in order to reduce the overhead and delay times occurring when individual links must be maintained as in previous technologies. The necessary scheduling information may include information such as how much bandwidth needs to be allocated for each session, expected increases and decreases in utilization based on time and other information necessary to manage a reservation protocol session. In step 1040, the media aggregation managers begin reserving protocol sessions according to the information schedule provided in step 1030.

In some instances, for example where the schedule indicates that utilization will exceed the available communication bandwidth, the user may select another path for analysis, select another pair of allocated media aggregation nodes for de-allocation or restrict the number of users allowed to communicate over the selected media aggregation managers. Should the user decide to de-allocate a previously allocated protocol session, he selects the media aggregation managers and then selects Bandwidth Deallocation 204 from the menu. FIG. 4 indicates a bandwidth deallocation screen and allows the user to select “deallocate bandwidth”. In response, the graphical user interface provides a warning and confirmation dialog box. The user may then confirm the deallocation.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. 

1. A method comprising: discovering a set of nodes within a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network, the set of nodes including a plurality of media aggregation manager nodes, a plurality of routers and a plurality of communities; receiving an indication of a first media aggregation manager node of the set of nodes that is configured to serve as a reservation protocol session proxy for one or more communication devices associated with a first community of the plurality of communities; receiving an indication of a second media aggregation manager node of the set of nodes that is configured to serve as a reservation protocol session proxy for one or more communication devices associated with a second community of the plurality of communities; graphically depicting a plurality of paths through the VoIP network, each path depiction representing a potential path over which media packets are capable of being transferred between the first community and the second community; receiving a selection of a path of the graphically depicted plurality of paths; configuring a set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of a selected path of the plurality of paths to route media packets exchanged between the first community and the second community over the selected path; deallocating at least a portion of bandwidth available to the set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of the selected path; allocating at least a portion of the deallocated bandwidth available to the set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of the selected path; and establishing a reservation protocol session between the first media aggregation manager node and the second media aggregation manager node onto which a plurality of application sessions among the one or more communication devices of the first community and the one or more communication devices of the second community are to be multiplexed.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reservation protocol session comprises a ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP) session.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein a first communication device of the one or more communication devices associated with the first community and a second communication device of the one or more communication devices associated with the second community are running an Internet telephony application and wherein an application session established between the first communication device and the second communication device utilizes bandwidth reserved for the reservation protocol session to exchange voice transmissions between the first communication device and the second communication device.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphically depicting a plurality of paths through the VoIP network comprises displaying the plurality of paths in a prioritized fashion based upon one or more predetermined factors.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more predetermined factors include one or more of: a number of nodes in the potential path; total available bandwidth for the potential path; available communications bandwidth on the potential path; propagation speed between nodes that make up the potential path; and physical length of travel between nodes that make up the potential path.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising prior to the configuring a set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of a selected path of the plurality of paths: receiving a request to analyze the selected path; and determining a total combined schedule of bandwidth allocation by combining: a predicted increase in bandwidth allocation for each router of the set of routers that are part of the selected path assuming the reservation protocol session between the first media aggregation manager node and the second media aggregation manager node is to be established; and a current bandwidth allocation for each router of the set of routers that are part of the selected path representing bandwidth previously allocated.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising displaying the total combined schedule of bandwidth allocation for the selected path to an administrator of the VoIP network.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the displayed total combined schedule of bandwidth allocation allows the administrator to confirm whether utilization of the available communication bandwidth for each of the routers of the set of routers that are part of the selected path is within a desired range.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a network map including visually distinguishable graphical representations of the plurality of routers, the plurality of communities, a plurality of media aggregation managers, and interconnections among the plurality of routers, the plurality of communities, and the plurality of media aggregation managers.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving information regarding a number of end users that are part of the first community that are capable of communicating via the first media aggregation manager node; and receiving information regarding a number of end users that are part of the second community that are capable of communicating via the second media aggregation manager node.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving information identifying a pair of media aggregation manager nodes of the set of nodes that serve as reservation protocol session proxies for communication devices associated with a pair of communities of the plurality of communities; graphically depicting: a currently selected path through the VoIP network over which media packets are currently configured to be transferred between the pair of communities; and one or more alternative paths through the VoIP network over which media packets are capable of being transferred between the pair of communities; and responsive to a request to change the currently selected path to an alternative path of the one or more alternative paths: reconfiguring those of the plurality of routers that are part of the currently selected path; configuring those of the plurality of routers that are part of the alternative path to route media packets exchanged between the pair of communities over the alternative path; deallocating bandwidth allocated to those of the plurality of routers that are part of the currently selected path; including terminating a reservation protocol session between the pair of communities; and establishing a new reservation protocol session between the pair of nodes onto which a plurality of application sessions among the communication devices of the pair of communities are to be multiplexed.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: graphically depicting a currently selected path through the VoIP network over which media packets are currently configured to be transferred between a pair of communities of the plurality of communities, wherein a pair of nodes of the set of nodes serve as reservation protocol session proxies for communication devices associated with the pair of communities; and responsive to a request to deallocate the currently selected path, deallocating bandwidth allocated to routers along the currently selected path communicatively coupling the pair of nodes and including terminating a reservation protocol session between the pair of nodes.
 13. An apparatus for administering a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network comprising: a storage device having stored therein one or more routines to receive input from a system administrator and convey information about the VoIP network to the system administrator; a processor coupled to the storage device to execute the one or more routines to perform discovery of the VoIP network, identify potential paths through the VoIP network over which media packets are capable of being transferred between a pair of selected media aggregation nodes participating in the VoIP network, and configure the VoIP network to use a currently selected path of the potential paths to exchange media packets between a pair of communities participating in the VoIP network; and a display coupled to the processor, wherein: a set of nodes within the VoIP network is discovered, the set of nodes including a plurality of media aggregation managers, a plurality of routers and a plurality of communities; the potential paths are graphically depicted on the display in a prioritized fashion; a set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of the currently selected path are configured to route media packets exchanged between the pair of communities over the currently selected path; at least a portion of bandwidth available to the set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of the currently selected path is deallocated; at least a portion of the deallocated bandwidth available to the set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of the currently selected path is allocated; the pair of selected media aggregation manager nodes are configured to act as reservation protocol session proxies on behalf of the pair of communities; and a reservation protocol session is established between the pair of media aggregation manager nodes onto which a plurality of application sessions among communication devices of the pair of communities are multiplexed.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the reservation protocol session comprises a ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP) session.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor determines a total combined schedule of bandwidth allocation by combining (1) a predicted increase in bandwidth allocation for each router of the set of routers that are part of the currently selected path assuming the reservation protocol session between the pair of selected nodes is to be established, and (2) a current bandwidth allocation for each router of the set of routers that are part of the currently selected path representing bandwidth previously allocated.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the total combined schedule of bandwidth allocation for the currently selected path is presented to the system administrator on the display to allow the system administrator to confirm whether utilization of the available communication bandwidth for each of the routers of the set of routers that are part of the currently selected path is within a desired range.
 17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein a network map is graphically depicted on the display, the network map including visually distinguishable graphical representations of the plurality of routers, the plurality of communities, a plurality of media aggregation managers, and interconnections among them.
 18. An article of manufacture including a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon execution of which, by a computing device, causes the computing device to perform operations comprising: discovering a set of nodes within a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network, the set of nodes including a plurality of media aggregation managers, a plurality of routers and a plurality of groups of communication devices; receiving an indication of a first media aggregation manager node of the set of nodes that is configured to serve as a reservation protocol session proxy for one or more communication devices associated with a first group of communication devices of the plurality of groups of communication devices; receiving an indication of a second media aggregation manager node of the set of nodes that is configured to serve as a reservation protocol session proxy for one or more communication devices associated with a second group of communication devices of the plurality of groups of communication devices; graphically depicting a plurality of paths through the VoIP network, each path depiction representing a potential path over which media packets are capable of being transferred between the first group of communication devices and the second group of communication devices; receiving a selection of a path of the graphically depicted plurality of paths; configuring a set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of a selected path of the plurality of paths to route media packets exchanged between the first group of communication devices and the second group of communication devices over the selected path; deallocating at least a portion of bandwidth available to the set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of the selected path; allocating at least a portion of the deallocated bandwidth available to the set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of the selected path; and establishing a reservation protocol session between the first media aggregation manager node and the second media aggregation manager node onto which a plurality of application sessions among the one or more communication devices of the first group of communication devices and the one or more communication devices of the second group of communication devices are multiplexed.
 19. The article of manufacture of claim 18, wherein the reservation protocol session comprises a ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP) session.
 20. The article of manufacture of claim 18, wherein a first communication device of the one or more communication devices associated with the first group of communication devices and a second communication device of the one or more communication devices associated with the second group of communication devices are running an Internet telephony application and wherein an application session established between the first communication device and the second communication device utilizes bandwidth reserved for the reservation protocol session to exchange voice transmissions between the first communication device and the second communication device.
 21. The article of manufacture of claim 18, wherein the graphically depicting a plurality of paths through the VoIP network comprises displaying the plurality of paths in a prioritized fashion based upon one or more predetermined factors.
 22. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the one or more predetermined factors include one or more of: a number of nodes in the potential path; total available bandwidth for the potential path; available communications bandwidth on the potential path; propagation speed between nodes that make up the potential path; and physical length of travel between nodes that make up the potential path.
 23. The article of manufacture of claim 18, wherein the execution of the instructions further causes the computing device to perform operations comprising, prior to the configuring a set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of a selected path of the plurality of paths: receiving a request to analyze the selected path; determining a total combined schedule of bandwidth allocation by combining (1) a predicted increase in bandwidth allocation for each router of the set of routers that are part of the selected path assuming the reservation protocol session between the first node and the second node is to be established, and (2) a current bandwidth allocation for each router of the set of routers that are part of the selected path representing bandwidth previously allocated.
 24. The article of manufacture of claim 23, wherein the execution of the instructions further causes the computing device to perform operations comprising displaying the total combined schedule of bandwidth allocation for the selected path to an administrator of the VoIP network.
 25. The article of manufacture of claim 24, wherein the displayed total combined schedule of bandwidth allocation allows the administrator to confirm whether utilization of the available communication bandwidth for each of the routers of the set of routers that are part of the selected path is within a desired range.
 26. The article of manufacture of claim 18, wherein the execution of the instructions further causes the computing device to perform operations comprising displaying a network map including visually distinguishable graphical representations of the plurality of routers, the plurality of groups of communication devices, a plurality of media aggregation managers, and interconnections among the plurality of routers, the plurality of groups of communication devices, and the plurality of media aggregation managers.
 27. A method comprising: discovering a set of nodes within a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network, the set of nodes including a plurality of media aggregation managers, a plurality of routers and a plurality of groups of communication devices; receiving an indication of a first media aggregation manager node of the set of nodes that is configured to serve as a reservation protocol session proxy for one or more communication devices associated with a first group of communication devices of the plurality of groups of communication devices; receiving an indication of a second media aggregation manager node of the set of nodes that is configured to serve as a reservation protocol session proxy for one or more communication devices associated with a second group of communication devices of the plurality of groups of communication devices; graphically depicting a plurality of paths through the VoIP network, each path depiction representing a potential path over which media packets are capable of being transferred between the first group of communication devices and the second group of communication devices; receiving a selection of a path of the graphically depicted plurality of paths; configuring a set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of a selected path of the plurality of paths to route media packets exchanged between the first group of communication devices and the second group of communication devices over the selected path; deallocating at least a portion of bandwidth available to the set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of the selected path; allocating at least a portion of the deallocated bandwidth available to the set of routers of the plurality of routers that are part of the selected path; and establishing a reservation protocol session between the first media aggregation manager node and the second media aggregation manager node onto which a plurality of application sessions among the one or more communication devices of the first group of communication devices and the one or more communication devices of the second group of communication devices are to be multiplexed. 